Various types of cooking apparatus are known. These include barbeques, ovens, and gas and electric cook tops. Barbeques utilize charcoal, propane (that is stored in a tank) or natural gas as a heating source. The gas or charcoal is combusted below the cooking surface and the heat from the combustion is utilized to cook the food. Barbeque foods are popular and indoor barbeques have been developed. These typically comprise a grill that is provided as part of a cook top. The cook top includes a grill below which a natural gas burner is positioned. An exhaust system is provided adjacent (e.g., above or behind the grill) to exhaust the combustion gasses. These indoor barbeques have several disadvantages. First, they must be connected to a source of gas. If a kitchen does not already have a feed of natural gas, e.g., for a natural gas oven, then it may be difficult or impractical to retrofit an indoor barbeque into an existing kitchen. Another disadvantage is the noise of the exhaust system. The combustion products must be exhausted and the exhaust systems typically have high flow rates resulting a high noise level while cooking.
A gas barbeque that utilizes hydrogen is known. The barbeque utilizes an external pressurized hydrogen canister. The canister is removable so that, when the canister is empty, a new canister containing hydrogen may be installed. One disadvantage with this barbeque is that hydrogen is a very light gas and has a low power density. Accordingly, a canister of hydrogen that is transportable by a consumer would have a relatively small supply of hydrogen compared to propane canisters.
Existing cooking tops that use electric resistance heating or a gas burner are designed to have the food placed in a frying pan or cooking pot which is placed on or above the cooking element. The food is not placed directly in contact with the heat source. Accordingly, exiting cook tops are used for cooking food such as by frying, boiling or steaming the food.
Electrical heating cooking surfaces, which are designed to have the food placed directly on the heated surfaces, are known. These include electric frying pans, waffle irons, and cooking appliances sold under various trademarks such as George Foreman with respect to grills. In each of these cases, the food is placed on an electrically heated surface. The George Foreman appliance uses a corrugated cooking surface so as to create channels in which the fat from the food may collect while the food is cooking. Such cooking appliances do not simulate barbequed food.
Cooking appliances that use both electricity and gas to cook are known. An example is cooking appliances that include an oven that is heated by electrical resistance heating, with and without forced convection, and a gas cook top. Ovens and cook tops are also known that permit the use of gas and electric heating (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,147, United States Patent Application published under no. 2004/0200825 and Japanese Patent Application No. 55065834). These cooking appliances do not simulate barbequed food.